Step for vehicles.



Patented Dec. 30, 1902.

A. F. DIETZ.

sTEP' FOR VEHICLES.

(Application filed Oct 25 1902) (No Model) (awe/11101 .Valuemcs 2/. 1f

ethane/1;; I

UNITED STATES FFICE.

PATENT ALANSON F. DIETZ, OF ALTAMONT, NEW YORK.

STEP FOR VEHICLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 717,361, dated December30, 1902. Application filed October 25, 1902. Serial No. 128,743. (Nomodel.)

To all whom. it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALANSON F. DIETZ, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Altamont, in the county of Albany and State of NewYork, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Steps forVehicles, of which the following is a full, clear, and

exact description, such as will enable those.

skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thisspecification. v

This invention relates to improvements in steps for vehicles, and moreparticularly in steps for vehicles of that class which are used byvenders in selling and disposing of their goods. In such vehicles thereis much getting in and out on the part of the vender, and where thesteps are mounted on the thills, as they usually are, the uneven strainthrown on the thills by the weight of the vender in getting in and outof his vehicle on one side or the other causes the harness to chafe thehorse. In the present invention it is pro posed to avoid thisobjectionable feature by mounting the steps on the front axle of thevehicle instead of on the thills.

The invention in carrying out this purpose consists in the novelconstruction, combination, and arrangement of parts, such as will behereinafter fully described, pointed out in the appended claims, andillustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, in which similar reference characters designatecorresponding parts,Figure 1 is a perspective view of a step embodyingthe invention, and Fig. 2 shows the several parts detached from the axleand from each other;

The axle A, to which the step is attached, is of the constructionordinarily found in the front axles of Venders vehicles. Secured to theaxle by the clip B is the angle-iron comprising the horizontal member 0and the vertical member D. The horizontal member of the angle-iron isplaced against the under side of the axle and has passing through it themembers of the clip B, on the ends of which are turned nuts for securingthe angle-iron and clip in place. The vertical InemberD of theangle-iron projects upwardly and rests against the back of the axle.

Its upper end projects above the axle and has secured in the same theinner end of the main support E. The latter rests on the top of theaxle, which forms a fulcrum for the same. By means of this attachmentthe main support is firmly held in placeagainst downward pressure on itsouter end.

The foot plate or rest F is secured to the lower endof the shank G, andthe upper end of the latteris integral with the plate H. On the outerend of the main support E is the plate I, to which the plate H issecured, the two plates being of substantially the same configuration.

Auxiliary braces J are provided to prevent a lateral displacement of thestep. The inner end of one of the braces is secured to the under side ofthe axle A by the clip K on one side of the attachment of the mainsupport to the axle, and the inner end of the other brace is secured tothe under side of the axle by the clip L on the other side of theattachment of the main support. The clip K may also serve to secure partof the fifth-Wheel mechanism to the axle. The outer ends of theauxiliary braces pass through the plates H and I and secure the twotogether, nuts being turned onto the projecting ends of the braces forthe purpose.

It is to be observed that the inner ends of the auxiliary braces areconsiderably separated, and consequently offer considerable resistanceto any tendency that the step may have to move laterally, and also thatwhile the main support leads from the top of the axle the auxiliarybraces lead from its bottom, which permits the braces to aid insustaining any downward pressure on the step. In this way a step isproduced that is efficient in its purpose, of simple construction, andone which can be applied to the vehicle in ordinary use without changingthe construction of its axle in any way.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. In a vehicle-step,an axle, an angle-iron with one of its membersplaced against the under side of said axle and its other member restingagainst the back of the axle, a clip securing said angle-iron to saidaxle, a main support having its inner end secured to the upper end ofthe member of the angle-iron resting against the back of the axle andfulcrumed on said axle, a step attached to the outer end of saidsnpport,and auxiliary braces leading from the outer end of said mainsupport and secured to said axle.

2. In a vehicle-step, an axle, an angle-iron with one of its membersplaced against the under side of said axle and its other member restingagainst the back of the axle, a clip securing said angle-iron to saidaxle, a main support having its inner end secured to the upper end ofthe member of the angle-iron resting against the back of the axle andfulcrumed on said axle, a plate secured to the IS outer end of said mainsupport, a foot-plate having a shank provided with a plate on its upperend, and auxiliary braces secured at their inner ends to said axle andpassing through said plates at their outer ends to hold 20 said platestogether.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses.

ALANSON F. DIETZ.

Witnesses:

HIRAM Games, FRANK BENN.

